Stealthbreeze's Journey
by Stealthbreeze
Summary: This story takes place a moon or two after FotC [To those who knew it] ended, and is an alternate storyline to what actually happened when there. In 'Stealthbreeze's Sign', she gets to the edge of the territory and Starclan, in the form of wind, guides her back home. However, here, for one reason or another, things do not end that way.
1. Prologue

It was hard that night. I didn't want to leave, but I had searched time and again for a sign, something to tell me I should stay...  
>I had looked to Starclan to help me, to guide me...<br>But either there was no sign, or I had not found it, because now, I was sitting on the edge of Sorrelclan territory, ready to leave.  
>I wasn't a fool. I knew what leaving meant.<br>It meant I would never see the ones I loved again. It meant I would never be the leader I had always wanted to be, but most of all, it meant that in the wise eyes of Starclan, I would never be worthy.  
>Yet, somehow, I was prepared to accept those terms.<p>

It had been nearly a moon since I had found out about my... the taint in my lineage. I was glad that Dapplestar had been honest, and had told me, but that didn't change the fact that it was still my problem.  
>My parents, loners, rogues, or worse, kittypets. And me? Deserving of being a part of this clan? No. Certainly not.<br>This place had so many memories. I remembered moons upon moons of things here in Sorrelclan. I remembered my apprentice ceremony, and how excited I was when Dapplefur, who had been the deputy, was announced as my mentor, and not to long after, how the leader had lost his last life and Dapplefur was announced as Dapplestar. I remembered countless days training with Dapplestar and her brother, Rowanblaze when Dapplestar was busy. I remembered my warrior ceremony, and so much more. But the memories couldn't matter. How could they matter if the one thing I **didn't **remember was the reason for all of this.  
>So, one last time, I sat at the edge of the territory and gazed up to the silverpelt, which sparkled above me like fresh dew. And there, I waited. I waited for a long time, or at least, it felt like a long time. I wanted a sign. I wanted something to point me back, something to tell me that I was making the wrong decision. But nothing came.<br>"Fine." I hissed under my breath. "Be that way, Starclan. Just watch. I don't need you."  
>And so, I turned my back on that territory and its inhabitants. And as I ran, there was only one thing on my mind: <em>Don't look back, Stealthbreeze. Don't look back.<em>


	2. Chapter 1

I woke the next morning to the rhythmic beating of rain, opening my eyes and pausing for a few heartbeats before I realized where I was, how I had gotten there, and most importantly, why. Last night, I had made what ground I could manage in the darkness, which was relatively far, I supposed, compared to how little I had ever set foot out of Sorrelclan territory. I had cut through the land outside of Cavernclan territory, and had been traveling through the pine forest. Sometime nearer to the rising sun, I had collapsed in a small, empty burrow that smelled faintly of many different animals. I guess that faint fox scent hadn't mattered much when I was so tired. The scent was anything but fresh at least, which was good, even though I planned to move out as soon as possible.  
>My gaze turned to the frightful weather outside. I wasn't sure when it had started raining, but I figured it couldn't have been long. After all, though the den was not exactly warm, it was dry. As much as I wanted to stay and rest, I knew it was in my best interest to travel through the rain. Even if I was tired, I had to make more ground, especially while the rain would mask my scent and prevent the others from discovering where I had gone.<br>And on top of that, I knew what was coming. The drop. The drop when I finally collapsed and realized what I was doing. As of yet, I was still in shock, and I planned to keep myself that way until I was far, far away from home.  
>My slim, grey figure slipped hesitantly out of the dry den and into the miserable cold outside. The rain assaulted me from above, and at the sides when the winds kicked in, which soon drenching my spotted coat, silver underbelly blending into the same wet darkness as my charcoal grey pelt and jet black spots.<br>Of course, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going just yet. I just knew that I was going very far away. As far away as a cat of my blood should. I trudged on, stumbling - literally - onto a vole, which of course, scared it away before I could catch it. I cursed my lack of attention, knowing that even with the rain, I was close enough to have at least scented _something_. And still, I trudged, the dreary landscape unchanging. For as far as I could see, there was just pine tree after pine tree, grass surrounded by grass, and ever so often, a rock or a burrow.  
>I kept going after the rain stopped, and it was only until after I was dry and the clouds had already begun to part, revealing the silverpelt gleaming above me, that I stopped. My green eyes scanned my surroundings for a burrow. I found myself lucky, locating another at the roots of a tree. Dead tired by that time, I crawled into the hollow. It was smaller than the last one, but I had to make due. I wasn't going to risk staying out in the open. Even if I wasn't an extremely important warrior, I was sure they would come looking for me, like they would for anyone else that went missing. I was well out of Sorrelclan territory by now, but I still worried. Just in case.<br>I curled up in the hollow, closing my eyes and willing sleep to take me, but it did not. After I while, I quietly stole out of the hollow, squeezing through the entrance and taking in a breath of fresh, wet-grass scented air. I sat down, and my gaze drifted up, watching the clouds move slowly across the sky. Though they were rather thick, the clouds were like patches, and though they were not the reddish hue and white, it still reminded me of Dapplestar's pelt.  
>And that's when it hit. The drop.<br>I let out a sigh, turning my green eyed gaze up to the stars, past the clouds with which I had been so interested in. _Did... Did I make the wrong decision?_ Nothing. Just silence. A few crickets chirped here and there. My tail curled around my paws, and I purred, trying to comfort myself, though it wasn't working. Though I told myself that I was going to be fine, one thought reigned supreme. _I don't even belong anywhere anymore._ The thought hit me like a badger strike, and I shook my head, eyes returning to my paws, knowing it was true. There was nothing for me back there. I didn't belong in Sorrelclan anymore. I never did, I just didn't know it at the time. I loved Sorrelclan, but that wasn't where I belonged. I reminded myself over and over, hoping that one day it would sound true. It wasn't where I belonged. It wasn't where I belonged. There would be a world of places where I could belong somewhere else, not as a clan cat. There was a silence before I glared up at Silverpelt once more.  
>"Whatever." I hissed, "I don't need Sorrelclan, and I don't need <strong>Starclan<strong> either." I sat there, waiting longer than I should have for a sign that Starclan had heard me before I turned, giving up and lying down. I closed my eyes, and soon, fell asleep.

When I woke the next morning, my stomach growled, but I didn't feel like eating anything. Something about running away really destroyed my appetite. Upon slipping out of the den, I surveyed the scenery, realizing something I hadn't noticed before. A few foxlengths away, the pines began to grow a little more crooked, and their needles became brownish. Upon further inspection, the grass began turning a yellowish color as well. For a cat who had didn't remember any time where she had ever been anywhere but the Sorrelclan forest, the change in scenery was quite drastic.

As I traveled this new land, the grass grew thinner and thinner, and the sun's rays became blazing hot by sunhigh. A few times, I had to stop and rest in what meager shade I found. I hunted a bit, and caught a pigeon, which was nice, though I wasn't hungry. The heat of the day brought something even worse than hunger though: Thirst. Without a river or a storm in sight, my throat had become parched.  
>The first night, I gathered enough of either courage or stupidity to sleep under a seemingly abandoned monster out in the middle of this new territory. I learned strange new sounds that night. Frightful wailing noises that would sometimes come too close for comfort would periodically sound, waking me every single time.<br>The next morning, I woke from a restless sleep and continued on my way. I continued on like this for a while, traveling by day and cowering into sleep. At one point, I managed to find some water, in the form of a dirty puddle shaded from the sun. I was desperate. I lost track of the sunrises that went past, just going through the motions and never daring to look back. Never daring to let my eyes trace the stars once more. It continued on in the way... until that one fateful day.

Tired, hungry, and thirsty, I searched for a place to rest until sunup, seeing no place to do so. After so long being out in the heat and sand and dirt, with the scraggly plants and few trees, I finally had gotten desperate. I sneaked into a twoleg yard.  
>I wasn't there to see if they had any of that crowfood they feed kittypets, of course. Even if I wasn't a clan cat anymore, I still had my morals. No, I was going for a patch of grass outside of the twoleg nest. It being dark, I had no trouble in getting to the area and begin drinking. The water didn't taste nearly as good as the water from the river back in... the forest. Still, I was desperate. That night, I also managed to work up enough speed to catch a hare, or something that resembled it. I went to remove myself from the yard, the same way I had entered: A hole under the caging. And that's when it happened.<br>My normal, stealthy nature had failed me, or I had failed it rather, for I had made no attempt since the drop to try and keep myself hidden. But now, in a single heartbeat, I was snapped out of the daze that for so long had had a hold over me.  
>For, not a foxlength away, the wailing sounded. It was not a screaming as a fox's howl, or a cat's yowl, and it was long and drawn out. I tried to sneak back, but the animal had already seen me. I wasted no time. I ran.<br>The hole was large enough for the animal to get in, as I could hear behind me. My heart was beating out of my chest as I threw myself across the land, having to deal with the pain when I stepped on something sharp. My eyes darted back and forth, searching through the darkness in a futile effort to find somewhere this beast couldn't get me. It growled and barked, snarling as it chased after me. Once or twice, I heard it's jaws snapping at my tail.  
>And then, out of nowhere, someone shouted, "Over here!" I could just barely see the figure, but I angled towards it, quickly throwing myself forward with an extra burst of speed and letting my quick reflexes take over when there was a sudden steep slope. However, the hunger and tiredness had dulled these reflexes, and I stumbled a little at the middle. Whoever had spoken earlier grabbed me by my scruff, helping me to the top. The beast growled and snarled below us, at the bottom. Apparently it couldn't get up.<br>Breathing hard, I looked to the cat that had saved me. He was breathing a little hard as well, but chuckled a bit, looking down at the animal. The male was off-white with black patches on his coat, though his cheeks and a little up from his nose were all white. Golden eyes looked back to me as he said, "What a way to meet, right?" He stretched, walking away from the opening. Some cracks in the ceiling of this 'nest' were present, but I knew I would see the stars through them, so I didn't examine them closely.  
>"Thank you." I called after him, not really sure what else to say.<br>"Don't worry about it." He replied, purring a bit. "It was my honor to save your life."  
>I paused, watching this stranger. He didn't smell like a kittypet, but not like a loner, or rather, not exactly. "I never thought about it that way." I murmured, watching as he sat in the corner. "Who are you, anyway?"<br>He gave a purr. "My name's Aspen. And you?"  
>I paused, unsure what to answer. Should I answer with my name, 'Stealthbreeze', or since I wasn't a clancat, should I change it? In any case, he was a stranger, maybe I should give him a fake name.<br>However, he seemed to pick up on some of this. "I did save your life, so you do owe me a name, at least."  
>So, I just said my name, "I'm Stealthbreeze. It's, well, it's good to meet you I guess. After all, I <em>would<em> be dead if we hadn't."  
>"Very true," He replied. "Does that mean that you're from a clan as well? Your name, I mean."<br>I hesitated, but then shook my head. "Can we not talk about it?"  
>He nodded a little, lying down and saying, a little quieter, "Alright then, and you can stay if you want. I don't mind. Unless you want to chance that coyote."<br>_Coyote. Is that what attacked me?_ I paused, watching him fall asleep. Or at least, I was pretty sure that he was asleep.  
>I didn't exactly trust this 'Aspen', but I figured it was the only kind of shelter I was going to find right now. So, I padded to the opposite end of the seemingly adapted twoleg nest, curled up, and soon drifted off to sleep.<p> 


	3. Chapter 2

I woke before sunup, feeling better rested for the first time since I had left. I rose to my feet, looking around. Aspen, from last night, was still curled up in the same little corner. I considered sneaking out and continuing on my way, but before I had made a decision, he stirred, looking around and seeing me.

"Oh, you're up." He said, "I was wondering when you would wake up." He stood, stretching and giving a yawn. "I'll give you this, you live up to your name."  
>"You were already awake?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.<br>"Yeah. I've got a thing for waking up really early. In my old clan, we used to wake up well before morning, because-"  
>I cut him off, taking a step towards him, "Wait, your old clan? What do you mean by that? Were you in a clan once too?"<br>Aspen paused, and a long silence went by where we just stared at each other. Finally though, he said, "Yes. I used to be a clancat, just like you. I was Aspenclaw, of Sandclan. My clan met an unfortunate end." There was another pause before he took a step forward as well, "And what of you? You said you didn't want to talk about your clan, but why? Was it destroyed as well? Great Starclan, don't tell me that the twolegs got to your clan as well."  
>"It's my business what happened in my clan!" I snapped, glaring at him with my tail twitching angrily side to side. I turned to the strange contraption that we had traveled up to get to this place, moving to exit down it when he spoke.<br>"You left, didn't you." It wasn't a question. His voice was quiet, and silence followed. I stopped in my tracks. My legs felt weak. I looked back up at him, my dark greens locking with his golds.  
>The silence persisted, lasting longer than it should have, but finally, I repeated, "That's none of your business."<br>"Fine." He said, stronger, faster. "Fine, Stealthbreeze. You don't have to tell me. I'm not going to force to talk to me. I'm not going to force you to stay so you can regain your strength before you go wherever it is that you're trying to go. But, I _am_ going to tell you something. Beyond this twoleg nest, there is desert, and beyond this desert, there are mountains, and beyond those mountains are more clans. I don't know why you left your old clan, but if you think that you can start your life over, in a new clan, I can take you there. If not, then take me with you wherever you are going."  
>"And what makes you think I'd want to take you anywhere with me?" I asked, dropping nimbly to the ground and exiting the structure.<br>I heard him land behind me and take a few steps forward before he said, "Because, Stealthbreeze. You know what it feels like." My eyes narrowed and I glanced back at him, slowing to a stop. "You know what it feels like to want to disappear."  
>Silence. Silence again. And then, I surprised myself. I nodded, my voice hushed, and I simply said, "<em>Okay<em>."


	4. Chapter 3

A few hours later, I was beginning to wonder if it was the correct choice to bring Aspen along. I suppose that couldn't have occurred to me when I told him okay. No, no, that would be just way too easy.  
>In any case, I wasn't exactly sure why I didn't want him there. It wasn't that he wasn't useful. He was very useful. He showed me the prey of this 'desert', as he called it, and told me about the different ways to get water here. It was very helpful. So no, it wasn't that he was useless. It was more that his presence was a big change.<br>I watched as he leaped up onto a rock for a better visual, looking around and nodding. "We're making good progress." I jumped on the rock to join him, my eyes scanning the harsh terrain. The sun glared down at us from directly above, and I longed to reach the end of the day. "Starclan willing, we'll make it to the next stop by sundown."  
>He jumped down and I followed a few paces behind, both of us panting from thirst. It annoyed me for one reason or another that Aspen was leading. It didn't really matter, as we hadn't really decided where we were going. With that in mind, it came to me that it wouldn't matter if I was leading either. So, I picked up the pace, pulling in front of him. I could see him turn to look at me. Without missing a beat, he trotted past me. I went to lead again, but as I did, the look on his face changed, and he darted forward.<br>At first, the hair on the back of my head stood on end, and I bolted after him, thinking he had seen or smelled a predator. But after I second, I realized he wanted to race. In the heat, and the dust and the wind, he wanted to race.  
>I was tired, but my pride wouldn't let me lose. I threw myself forward, keeping pace with him for a few seconds. Aspen was wicked fast though, and when we finally slowed and stopped, he had been about a treelength in front of me. Panting heavily, I asked, "Where'd you learn to run like that, Aspen?"<br>Aspen, between pants, responded, "You get pretty fast when you start running from your problems." He gave a purr, "You should try it sometime. I can't say it's healthy, but it helps."  
>"Good to know." I said. After all, who was I to make a case against running away from my problems? It occurred to me to ask him what problems he had to run from, but for the same reason I wouldn't tell him the why I left my clan, I didn't say anything: It was nobody's business.<br>Sure enough, by sundown, we were up in a tree. It was strange, considering this desert place was so dry. Aspen said the only reason anything other than weeds grew out here was because the twolegs would give the trees and grass water. Not to mention, I wasn't so happy about spending the night suspended a literal tree length in the air. Still, I couldn't complain. The other option was under a twoleg monster. It was dead at the moment, but he cautioned that it would wake up in the morning.  
>We both stretched out on the branches - of which there where many - and got as comfortable as the situation allowed. I waited for a while, unable to fall asleep. Glancing to my side, I saw Aspen, seemingly already hunting in his dreams.<br>I quietly stood, jumping to the ground. I stayed pretty close to the tree, but still moved away; so that the sky was wide open above me. There, I sat down. My eyes drifted to Aspen again, but he hadn't moved, so my sights turned to the silverpelt that glimmered above me. I didn't look for Starclan, or wait for a sign. I just closed my eyes.  
>The first thing that came to mind was my warrior ceremony. I wasn't sure why, but that's what I thought about.<br>It had been nearly sundown, a few days after the rogue had attacked Dapplestar. I had tried to fight, but Dapplestar sent me back, and thanks to my speedy retrieval of backup, things hadn't gone dreadfully wrong. I wasn't sure whether it was that or my training that earned me my warrior name. I remembered the pause she had used before she said it aloud 'Stealthbreeze'. I had repeated it quietly, rolling my tongue over the beauty of the name. I remembered how everyone chanted my new name, and how happy I was. How normal it had been.  
>"It's nice, isn't it?" My eyes opened, and I turned around to see Aspen standing a tail length away. Without invitation, he came and sat down next to me, tilting his head towards the sky and closing his golden eyes. "We can just… close our eyes, and pretend we're back there. Back in that normal life." I hesitated, but then looked to the sky, closing my eyes again. "It's like… just maybe, with our eyes closed, we can pretend that nothing ever went wrong." I could hear him purring, "It's like Starclan willing, we think that we can go back to that."<br>After a few seconds of silence, I asked, "Why?" My eyes opened, but I didn't look at him. He looked at me though, golden eyes showing themselves once more.  
>"Why what?" He asked.<br>"Why do you still believe in Starclan still? They didn't stop whatever happened to your clan, if they even exist at all."  
>There was a pause, and he gazed up at the stars. His voice came out a little slower as he replied, "Because, Stealthbreeze. Without our hope, there's nothing left for us but despair. Nothing left for us but life without purpose. I can't accept that. I'm sure Starclan had their reasons for what happened. We just don't know what they were. Starclan can only guide or warn us. They can't take an active part in what happens, after all. They warned us about what would happen anyway. It was our fault, not theirs that the clan fell."<br>It took me a second to realize that he had been talking about me for the first few sentences. I paused, my eyes tracing the stars. We just sat there in silence for a minute, but then something changed as he was looking at me. Fear suddenly struck his eyes, and he shouted, "Look out!" I was so startled that I froze for a few seconds, but then I dashed under the twoleg monster. In the darkness, I saw Aspen's white pelt leap at a feathered shadow with a great yowl. Finally, my warrior instincts kicked in, and I dashed out from under the monster, attacking the huge bird with him. We gave it a few good bites and scratches before it let out a huge screech and pulled up, flying away. We lost sight of it in the darkness, but Aspen chuckled a little, "Don't worry, he isn't coming back."  
>"You know," I said, "Back in the forest, you hunt the birds, not the other way around." He purred a little.<br>"Welcome to the desert. Where the birds hunt the cats and the twolegs wonder why they never find their kittypets." He looked me over. "Did the bird get you?"  
>"No." I replied, checking myself and finding no blood. "Did it get you?"<br>He looked to his front leg, "Nipped me. Nothing serious though. What a cowardly bird."  
>I gave a small smile, "I think that's enough excitement for tonight." He nodded, and we both returned to the tree, snuggling up in the branches and closing our eyes. I gave a yawn, and soon enough, I drifted off to sleep.<p>

_My limbs felt stiff, but I was purring, sitting a little outside the clearing where everyone was gathering under the leader's den. He had just called a clan meeting. The leader stood there, looking so familiar, while still, not. Dapplestar walked up and sat next to me. She looked older, a lot older than I remembered her. Something was different. Somehow, I could tell that she was Dapplefur again. She had retired from her leader position. Which confirmed the reason I felt so stiff. I was an elderly she-cat, watching as the current leader spoke.  
>"Stormpaw, please step forward." The grey spotted apprentice stood and stepped forward, his face beaming as the leader continued. "I, Cinderstar, leader of Sorrelclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." There was a pause, but then he turned his sights to the apprentice himself. "Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"<br>Stormpaw responded confidently, standing a little taller, "I do."  
>"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Stormpaw, from this moment you will be known as Stormfang. StarClan honors your honor and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Sorrelclan."<br>Cinderstar leaped down from his perch to rest his muzzle on Stormfang's head, and the chanting started. "Stormfang, Stormfang!" The others chanted his name, but I could only whisper it. I was on the verge of breaking down with happiness... and sorrow.  
>"You must be so proud." Dapplefur said quietly to me.<br>I was still smiling as I replied, "My son is a real warrior now." However, my smile quickly faded as I finished, "He's all grown up now." Dapplefur let me lean on her a bit, sensing my sorrow.  
>As the cheering died down, I saw him walking towards me, and I stood. His golden eyes and my green ones locked as I spoke. "I'm so proud of you." It was all I could think to say. My voice was breaking, and as we embraced, his head on my shoulder, my head on his, I heard his voice as he whispered,<br>"I just wish my dad was here to see me."  
>"I know... I know..." <em>  
>Even as the dream ended, a thought stuck with me. <em>This is what it was supposed to be. I was supposed to live in the clan, have kits... Sit in the elder den and watch the clan grow old... This was what it was supposed to be... <em>

When I woke, the sun was just barely rising. Aspen was standing there, golden eyes way closer to my face than I would've liked. "Come on," He whispered, "You've got to get up." I blinked a few times before I pushed myself off the tree branch, giving a stretch. "We've got a lot of ground to cover," He gave me a smile before dropping to the ground.  
>After a pause, I followed him, trying to shake the image of the dream.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4

"So," I asked, "Are we heading towards those clans?"  
>"Well you never protested against it, so I took the liberty of leading us towards the clans, yes. We're going to make a few stops along the way though."<br>I fell silent, panting from the heat and wishing that leafbare would suddenly arrive to cool us off.  
>There was a silence before he said, "Well, while we are trotting across the empty desert, we might as well make conversation."<br>"You first." I replied, concentrating on keeping myself from collapsing from exhaustion.  
>"Alright… Who was the lucky tom?"<br>"What?" I asked, my eyes narrowing as I looked up.  
>"You said something in your sleep about your son becoming a warrior. Who was his father?"<br>I shook my head. After a silence, I said, "I don't have a son. Or a mate."  
>He glanced back at me, "Pretty little she-cat like you. I'm sure you had toms drooling all over y-." I wrenched my head to my right and bit him on the tail. He stopped quickly, whipping around to face me. "What was that for?!"<br>"If we're going to traverse the desert, we have to set some ground rules. Rule one; you can't call me pretty or little."  
>"Okay," He countered, "Rule two, we can't hurt each other."<br>"Rule three, no talking about our old clans."  
>We glared at each other for a few seconds, but then he turned, continuing to pad on.<br>After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of our crinkling pawpads on the dry dirt and a hot breeze moving through the mostly dead plants, I spoke up. "Do you even know where our next stop is? You seem to pick it at random."  
>There was a silence that clearly stated that he didn't know. But then, "I know where the next one is. And tomorrow, I'll know where the next is."<br>"Okay, then where are we staying tonight?"  
>There was a hesitant pause on his side before he said, "With an old friend." I wanted to question him further, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. Something about this was strange, very personal to him.<br>And so, we went on, hunting the desert rabbits if we got hungry, and generally nearly collapsing because of dehydration until we came across another twoleg house that happened to have grass, which was often wet. It was strange to drink the water from the grass, but apparently the only easily accessible source of water. Despite desert all around us, there were some houses dotted here and there, with thunderpaths made of dirt. Few monsters ever used them though.  
>We had made a lot of progress by the time the sun was down, and at moonhigh we finally collapsed at another twoleg nest. It seemed abandoned. The lights were off, and junk was strewn all about it. As we neared, Aspen beside me called out, "Tiger?" His voice was a loud whisper, probably not daring a full voice due to the likely presence of coyotes.<br>I looked around, and after a few seconds, I saw an off-white tom step out from the ruin. He was long furred, with a small dark grey, possibly black, dot on his head. He was the kind of white that might've once been pure white, but had been browned by dirt. As we neared, I could see that his eyes were gold, just like Aspen's.  
>"Aspen." He replied welcomingly, "I almost thought you weren't coming this time. What took you so…" He paused, obviously noticing me. "Oh." Purring a little, Tiger said, "Well, well, Aspen. I suppose congratulation is in order?"<br>"What?" I asked, confused. I glanced to Aspen, who seemed about to speak when Tiger spoke again.  
>"I'm glad to see you've moved on. I thought you'd never take another mate after you lost Eagle-"<br>Aspen cut him off. "She's not my mate, Tiger."  
>"We're hardly even friends." I hissed. Me and Aspen. Great Starclan! I'd never! Aspen gave me a small glance, pretended to be hurt by my statement.<br>Tiger, obviously the one confused now, backed up a step. "Oh… Sorry about that. So why are you both here?" He looked from me to Aspen, before adding, "Together."  
>"We're crossing the desert. The only reason we're doing this together is because Stealthbreeze doesn't know what she's doing on her own."<br>I scowled, "Hey, you asked me to come along."  
>"I did save your life."<br>I scowled at him, but he was obviously enjoying this.  
>"Stealthbreeze?" Tiger asked, "A clancat yourself then? How'd you get way out here?"<br>I turned back to the fluffy tom, opened my mouth to speak, but then just shook my head. "It's a long story."  
>"So, Tiger, are you staying the night with us? You can come with if you want, come to think."<br>"Well, I'm definitely staying the night, but no, I'm afraid I can't come with you. I've got twoleg kits to take care of, remember?" Looking around, he added, "Come on, get inside. Before the coyotes scent us."  
>My only thought was, Twolegs? He hardly smells like them… Still, I followed the two toms into the ruined twoleg nest. They seemed to be very familiar with this structure, moving about it with ease. They led me up to a top level. This area did not have any square or rectangular holes in it, like the lower level had. Instead, some of the top of this level had broken, letting the stars shine through large gaps. The floor didn't feel very sturdy, and it creaked under our weight. However, Aspen and Tiger trusted it, and I wasn't going to be worried about something if they weren't. We settled in the corner, where there was a section of something soft, like moss, which was large enough to fit the three of us.<br>Both Aspen and I wanted to get to sleep quickly to be able to rise before the sun. The cool hours before morning were nice. However, Aspen and Tiger were obviously very good friends, though I couldn't tell their relation to each other. Tiger seemed younger than Aspen, so I figured it was possible that Tiger had been Aspen's apprentice back in his clan or something. In any case, they spoke for a long time, always avoiding saying anything about the past. They talked about what was going on now. How are the twolegs? How's the hunting? Was the journey here long?  
>I ended up falling asleep to the sound of them chattering, but I didn't stay asleep for long. I woke when the moon was still pretty high in the sky, and long before the sun had even begun to rise. I was concerned as I looked around and didn't see the two toms. However, the quiet murmur of voices was present nearby. Curious, I decided to see what they were talking about. I know it was a shifty move, but I was very curious about the two. So, I snuck quietly to a place within hearing distance of the two toms, which was to one of the large gaps. I could see the two toms below me, speaking on the ground level. They were speaking in whispers, but I could just faintly tell what they were talking about.<br>"How is your mother?" Aspen's voice asked quietly, and there was a few seconds before Tiger responded.  
>"She's okay. Grieving, but I don't blame her."<br>"I'd be grieving too. And I'm truly sorry for all of your losses, Tiger. I wish… I wish I had been there to help or…"  
>"Aspen." Tiger cut him off. "It's okay. There's nothing you could've done for them."<br>There was a silence before Aspen said, "They would've made great warriors. And so would you."  
>"In another life," Tiger replied. "Perhaps in another life."<br>"Or in this one. I'm sure your mom would love to come with us. Your humans will get another kittypet, and you could become a great warrior."  
>I could see Tiger shaking his head. He said nothing.<br>Another silence passed. What Aspen said next made me more curious than ever. "I never meant for any of this to happen, Tiger. I… I hope you and your mom knows that."  
>Tiger nodded. "She knows." Another pause. "Aspen, I need to tell you something."<br>"Hmm?"  
>"When my mom asks, I'm going to tell her that that she-cat up there,"<br>"Stealthbreeze?" Aspen asked. I hid as I saw him turn his head towards the upper area where he probably thought I was still asleep. I waited a few seconds, but when I poked my head out, he was staring at Tiger again.  
>"Yes, Stealthbreeze. I'm going to tell my mom that she is your mate. I think it will help her to think that you aren't dwelling on… what happened. She worries about you too, you know."<br>Aspen didn't protest the idea. I nearly blurted out my denial, which would've given away my cover. However, as the second part of Tiger's words registered, I realized why Aspen wasn't saying anything against it.  
>After another long silence, Aspen said, "We should get to sleep. We both have very long journeys in front of us." I quietly slinked back to the sleeping area, quickly curling up and shutting my eyes, hearing the two as they made their way up, their pawsteps landing right next to me before they curled up as well. My heart was beating fast, hoping I had looked asleep. After a few minutes though, I calmed back down, and I eventually fell asleep.<br>I was standing in the clearing, under the highrock. Dapplestar stood there, just like I remembered her. She was speaking, and a large crowd was gathering. I recognized her three kits, Cinderkit, Sootkit, and Dovekit, and the knowledge came to me that they were six moons. This was their apprentice ceremony.  
>Dapplestar's voice finally became clearer. "Cinderkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cinderpaw. Your mentor will be," There was a pause, or at least, something that felt like a pause to me, "Stealthbreeze." My eyes widened and my features brightened. "I hope Stealthbreeze will pass down all she knows on to you."<br>Both Cinderpaw and I exchanged glances before Dapplestar turned her attention to me. "Stealthbreeze, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from myself, Dapplestar, and you have shown yourself to be dependable and courageous. You will be the mentor of my son, Cinderpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Cinderpaw."  
>But, as Cinderpaw and I moved to touch noses, suddenly instead of Cinderpaw, Dapplestar was standing there. Confused, I reeled back, and she lunged at me, claws unsheathed and teeth showing as she screamed, "I trusted you!"<br>Just as Dapplestar's teeth latched around my neck, I woke, scrambling to my feet. It took a few seconds before I realized that I was awake now. I was awake and far, far away from my clan and the apprentice I could've had. No doubt Cinderkit, Dovekit, and Sootkit were being named apprentices any day now. I had no doubt that she would find great mentors for all of them. Sorrelclan's ranks were full of wonderful warriors. Looking around, I noticed Aspen was looking at me expectantly. To his gaze, I could only answer, "Nightmare." He nodded, apparently okay to leave it at that. Not seeing Tiger anywhere, I asked, "Where'd your friend go?"  
>"He had to get home, but he said it was nice to meet you."<br>"I assume he was just being polite. I hardly spoke with him."  
>"That's exactly what I was thinking." Glancing outside to the before-dawn sky, he asked, "So, are we going to get going? We've still got a long way to go before we get to the clans."<br>I nodded, giving a stretch and a yawn before we carried on through the peaceful hours of before sunup. We weren't even out of sight from the house when I asked, "So, who is Tiger?"  
>"What?"<br>"Well, you seem to be a pusher for conversation, so I'm starting a conversation."  
>Aspen was silent for a while before he responed. "He's a friend of mine. Didn't I tell you that before?"<br>"Other than that though. How did you meet?"  
>"I think that would violate rule three."<br>"So you met him in your old clan?"  
>"Well, kind of."<br>"Well, if you didn't, then I haven't broken any rules."  
>"Can you just stop pestering me about it?" Aspen hissed, not missing a beat in his step.<br>"I'm just curious. An old apprentice, or is the connection more to his mom? Were you and his mom in love and then she fell for some other tom or something?" I threw out a guess at random. His response stopped me in my tracks.  
>He whirled around to face me like he had when I had bitten his tail, claws unsheathing as he snarled, "You don't get to talk about his father like that! Cloudfang was a great warrior!" His voice cracked as he said, "He was a great warrior. My best friend. And now he's dead because of me." However, he quickly gained his composure as his golden eyes glared deep into mine and he finished, "You don't get to say a single word about Cloudfang." And then, he turned, picked up the pace, and began trotting forward again. I didn't dare say anything else. After a quiet few minutes of tension, he said, "Tiger's three brothers were killed by a cougar, a coyote pack, and an owl. Yet every day, he still comes out here and hunts and takes care of his family, just like his father." Silence. "He's one of the strongest toms I've ever met."<br>We didn't speak to each other for a while after that. Not until we had stopped in a twolegplace, the sun directly above us, as we hopped onto the wooden fence.  
>"What's this place?" I asked, looking at the tan and red twoleg nest.<br>"It's Tiger's twoleg nest." He replied simply. "I have a few goodbyes to get out of the way."  
>So, he dropped to the dirt ground and with a huge leap, and some traction, was able to climb into one of the square holes twolegs put in their nests. I crouched down on the fence, looking around to make sure there was no one around. Some dogs were present across the thunderpath, but they were held in by a different kind of fence. No other cats though, until, out of nowhere, someone else leaped up onto the fence behind you. I nimbly turned on the narrow structure to see a brown tabby she-cat.<br>"Who are you?" I hissed, tail swishing angrily behind me.  
>She gained a protective stance as she said, "I'd ask you the same, but I already know."<br>Immediately confused, I paused, "What?"  
>"Your smell," She said, relaxing a little, "You smell like Aspen. You must be his new mate Stealthbreeze."<br>I hesitated, but then just decided to play along. I loosened up, sitting up. Just be polite Stealthbreeze. I'm sure you can fake being polite for one conversation. "You must be Tiger's mother then. Forgive me if I don't remember your name?"  
>She loosened up a little as well, her features obviously brightening. "The twolegs call me Lakota, but my name is Rainear, or at least, it was Rainear. Now it's just Rain." She looked around, "Where's Aspen?"<br>I nearly blurted out 'Like I care' when I reminded myself I was supposed to be his mate. So, looking up to the second story window, I purred, "He was looking for you. Told me to stay here." I shook my head. "I'm just waiting to hear the twolegs so I can leap up there and pull him out of there. It scares me when he goes in places alone, but he won't let me come in with him."  
>Rain purred back, "I like you." Well, I successfully faked that. How lovely. "You remind me of Eaglefur. She was nice like you." Immediately I felt terrible for playing along, but arriving conveniently, Aspen came to my rescue.<br>"Rain!" He called, leaping carefully from the open square onto a few boxes, and then to the ground. "I was looking for you."  
>"I was just meeting your new mate. I have to say, you have great taste in she-cats, Aspen." As she turned, dropping to the yard, I shot a glance at Aspen. I could only hope that I looked like I had had no previous notion of this, and was going to box his ears for this when we started walking again. However, I put on my best polite face, dropping down as well and sitting next to Aspen, leaning into him a little and purring, like I had seen Dapplestar do with Crismsonfire.<br>Aspen was a little stiff about it as first, and I figured it was reasonable. After all, if my mate wasn't in the picture, I would be a little hesitant to pretend to have a new mate.  
>"So Aspen, why are you here? Tiger said you two were heading for the clans."<br>"I couldn't leave the desert without a final goodbye." Aspen said gently, "You mean too much to me for that."  
>"Careful, Aspen, you're making your mate jealous." I wasn't aware I had been showing any signs of jealousy, which made Rain's statement strange. Trying to keep up the polite image I seemed to be portraying, I gave a small chuckle as the other two did, guessing Rain was just kidding.<br>"In all seriousness though, I'm going to miss you, Rain. And I want you to know that if you ever decide you want the clan life, you're always welcome to come and find us. You and Tiger both. Okay?"  
>Rain nodded. "Okay. And if you find you can't stand the clancats, you can always come back to the desert. Both of you."<br>We couldn't stick around very long, and after some smiles and awkward 'how many litters do you want' questions were exchanged, we finally reached the end, where I left the two alone so Aspen could say a more personal goodbye. Once he came over the fence, where I was, we started on our way again.  
>After a few minutes, Aspen opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "Can we both agree that we'll never speak of that again?"<br>Aspen nodded. "Never again."


	6. Chapter 5

It was a few sunrises later by the time we felt the heat beginning to die down and give way to a cooler breeze. It was nicer, and the promising smell of trees and grass was in the air, if faint. It renewed both of our spirits, and we pushed on with greater gusto.  
>But that's when we hit the mountain. It was as a mountain should be, steep looking and imposing, with rocks covering nearly every bit of it. We had seen the mountain from afar, but even when we had taken measures to avoid passing over or through it, we couldn't find a way around it.<br>"Are you sure there's no other way?" I asked hesitantly, gazing upward at the towering rocks.  
>Aspen's voice was as shaky as mine, but I could tell he was trying to be confident as he asked, "Why? Are you scared?<br>"No!" I hissed, "I just don't think this is a good idea."  
>He gave a small sigh, "Well, no. There's no other way. We'll just have to get through it."<br>Aspen crouched, balanced himself, and then leaped onto the first rock, looking back at me. I paused before giving a nod to myself and beginning, following him leap by leap up the rocks. At one point, it leveled out enough that we could both walk a narrow path further up, but it didn't last for long.  
>Aspen leaped to the next rock and pressed himself against the mountain, looking down at the way we had come and pausing for a second. "Be careful Stealthbreeze. It's a long way down."<br>"Don't remind me." I responded, my legs already shaking. I pounced forward at the next rock, not daring to look down. Instead, I looked up, to the next rock we would have to get to. "This one is going to be tricky." Of course, the next rock had to be around a slight corner, and much higher. I could hardly see even the edge of it.  
>"I see it." He said quietly, judging the jump before leaping powerfully up to it. He disappeared around the edge, but I heard his voice speak. "The edge is a little tricky, so be careful."<br>I took in a deep breath, moving into position. I balanced myself with my tail, and then pushed off of the ground. My front paws landed safely, but a paralyzing shock went through my body as I realized my back paws had not. I let out a scream, the feeling of nothing beneath me terrifying.  
>"Stealthbreeze!" I heard Aspen call my name. My unsheathed claws trying unsuccessfully to dig into the stone, I felt myself slipping.<br>It all must've happened faster than I had thought though. Almost as if time was stopped, I saw Aspen lunging towards me, the light breeze brushing through his patched fur. I saw the fear in his golden eyes as slowly, ever so slowly, I lost my grip on the rock.  
>But then, he latched onto my neck, and my paws felt him lift me up. I scrambled back onto the rock, shaking and panting. And, to my embarrassment, pressing uncomfortably close to Aspen, even after he had let go of my scruff. My eyes were locked on the ledge though, and I couldn't bring myself to move. I had nearly died. Right here on the mountain.<br>It was Aspen's voice that brought me back to the world of the living. It was muffled at first, but finally my ears cleared. "Stealthbreeze. Hey, are you alright?" He gave me a slight brush on my cheek, and I stepped back.  
>"Y-yeah. F-fine. I a-almost j-j-just d-d-died though." I gave a hard swallow, trying to choke down my fear. "Th… Thanks Aspen."<br>He only gave a nod, looking around before he sat down and said, "If it helps, the view from here is great."  
>I looked at him for a second before I looked out at the surrounding land. From this angle, you could see the trees on the other side of the mountain. Scraggly grass seemed to start where the mountain ended, and grew into full, bright green grass. The air was full of the sweet, homesick forest smells that made my heart melt. We were lucky enough to be the shadow of the mountain now, so the sun wasn't shining in our eyes. The forest spread as far as we could see, rising into hills in the distance. It was exciting, but quiet, and calming.<br>I hesitated, but then spoke, sitting down as I did. "You know, my old forest used to smell like this. Rich, familiar scents."  
>"I thought we agreed there was to be no discussion about our past clans."<br>"I know."  
>There was a silence. A nice, quiet pause before we realized we really needed to get going again. Every heartbeat we wasted sitting here was another we'd not have to finish our journey.<br>So, we picked ourselves up, and carefully made our way down the mountain.  
>I followed him rock by rock, tiny pathway by tiny pathway, until we leaped off of the last rock and onto the scraggly grass. The dark earth felt nice on my now warn pawpads, and the grass, though at first rather strange and a little painful, soon became soft and a great relief.<br>Night approached quickly, but we hunted after moonrise, and found a small stream where we drank our fill and washed our paws in the cold water. The night air here was different, fresher and seemingly cleaner. It was incredibly refreshing, but it made me feel more homesick than ever.  
>When we finally grew tired, we searched around for a bit and found a spot where the roots of the tree had been hollowed out underneath. It smelled as if it had been vacant for a while, which was good. At least that meant no one was coming home to it. I settled on my stomach, my head in my paws as I closed my eyes. I could hear Aspen rustle next to me, and after while of adjusting my position and never falling asleep, I whispered into the darkness of the night, "Are you still awake?"<br>There was a pause, but then Aspen's voice whispered back, "Yeah."  
>We both still lay there in silence for a second before I said quietly, "It's all too familiar. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and wake up back in my clan."<br>Another pause before, "I've only been to the forest once before. I didn't think it would hurt this much to come back." I opened my eyes, sitting up and looking at Aspen. He opened one golden eye and looked at me, then sat up himself. I wasn't exactly surprised that I had failed to pick up on his discomfort throughout the journey about going to the forest. After all, I wasn't sure if I was exactly on the top of the list of cats that cared about others.  
>I knew I shouldn't ask why him being here caused him so much pain. But obviously my mouth didn't get the message. "W… why?"<br>"We do have a rule about this, you know." He replied. I was about to say something, but he spoke again. "I'll make you a trade though. If I tell you why, you have to tell me something about your clan. Deal?"  
>I hesitated, but then said, "Okay."<br>He took a breath, breathing out quietly before he began. "When I was in my clan, I had a mate. Her name was Eaglefur." Another unsteady breath. "This forest is where she and I fell in love." He began to purr, closing his eyes and tipping his head a little towards the sky. "I know she's watching me from Starclan. Especially here." I looked at the line of stars we could just barely see through the roots and the trees. No wonder he never gave up on Starclan. Still, I shook my head a little, looking back to Aspen.  
>"My turn now, I guess." I searched my memories for something I could share. His mate seemed to be such a personal thing. If I was going parallel, it seemed only right to talk about her misguided crush not so long ago. But that wasn't personal enough. She didn't exactly do anything to further pursue her feelings for the tom. So, finally, I settled on the only thing I could think to say. I took a deep breath, but just as I was about to speak, we heard a rustling outside.<br>Aspen quickly stood, slinking forward and putting his tail over my mouth. My nose caught the scent, and my fear spiked, eyes widening in fright. Fox. I thought to myself, fur bristling. Even now, I could hear it nearby. Aspen's eyes were scanning the holes and spaces between the roots where we had gotten through. The fox grew nearer, nearer still.  
>But then, the rustling stopped. We held our breath. Everything was much too quiet.<br>"Aspen…" I whispered softly, my voice hardly noticeable at all. He pointed with his tail to the other end of the den.  
>I could just barely hear his voice as he whispered, "Go that way. Head for the-"<br>Before he could finish, with a bang and a crash, the root system was smashed. Before I could even react, Aspen was being picked up in the jaws of the beast.  
>I had to think fast, dashing forward and leaping out of the hole the fox had created. I threw myself at it, raking my nails wherever I could land them, which ended up being part its face.<br>It whimpered and dropped Aspen. He seemed to be hurt, of course, but the fox must not have been able to get a deadly grip on him. The giant animal took one great paw and batted me aside. When I scrambled back to my paws, I saw Aspen leap onto the fox's back and grab into its scruff. It turned at an odd angle, snapping its teeth at him. I lunged, slashing at the animal's belly and trying to dodge after it turned its attention to me. Its sharp teeth pierced through my ear and ripped it.  
>It became very clear that we couldn't beat this, not the two of us. "Follow me!" I yowled, hearing as Aspen leaped to the ground behind me. I raced towards and quickly climbed up a nearby tree, but to my horror, the branches were too low for comfort. Aspen leaped, but landed just below the branch. I grabbed him, pulling him up just in time for him to avoid having half of a tail, but the fox, with its paws on the trunk of the tree, could still almost reach us. I looked frantically for higher branches, but before my darting glance spotted one, a thunderous yowl sounded. As the fox backed away to prepare another run up the tree, a white tom came from behind us and leaped at the beast, clearing its head and jaws and tearing his claws down the animal's back.<br>It let off a bark of rage, but Aspen was quick, leaping down and yowling. I followed the patched tom a moment after.  
>Against the three of us, the fox didn't seem to like its odds. There was some biting and scratching and scarring, but in the end, the fox turned tail and ran.<br>All three of us breathing hard, Aspen and I both looked up this other. I hardly recognized him. His fur was matted and a little grey and tan in some places. The fox must've wounded him, as he was limping, one of his back legs not touching the ground entirely. It was bleeding. However, Aspen, beside me, was able to see through all of this.  
>"Tiger?"<br>Speaking through his pain, he managed the word, "Surprise?"


	7. Chapter 6

What's he doing here? I wondered, but Aspen spoke before I could get out a word. "I know I said you were welcome to come with, but you should really be more careful." He paused, looking towards the tom's bleeding leg, "Can you still walk on that?"  
>Tiger gently touched his paw to the ground, wincing. "I'll be fine."<br>"You need a medicine cat." I blurted out and hesitated. I wasn't sure I wanted to meet the other clans just yet, but this was all I could think of. Aspen took it into stride.  
>"There's a clan near hear, or so I've heard." He paused, and a look of fear crossed his features before he continued, "Unless anyone here has any other ideas?" He seemed hesitant now as well.<br>I looked at all of us. Tiger seemed to be hurting the worst, testing the ground a little and pulling away again. Aspen was bleeding from where the fox had bitten him, and though he seemed to be dealing, I could tell that it was hurting terribly. As for me, I only had half of an ear on one side, and besides my aching ribcage, I noticed that the fox had bitten me at some point. We couldn't travel like this.  
>Aspen and Tiger seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion, so, trying to tone down the defeated sound of my voice, I said, "Lead the way, Aspen."<br>Tiger gave a nod, and so, Aspen lifted his nose to the night air, taking in the scents. "I'd suggest we wait until morning, but our wounds could get infected." He paused, turning, "I'm pretty sure it's this way."  
>We followed him, Tiger walking awkwardly on three legs and Aspen's gait a little off as he tried to not move in ways that would irritate his injuries.<p>

The trees grew thick around us, the grass soft and the night breeze cool as we came to the bottom of a gradual slope. "Just beyond this hill." Aspen said, and I looked to the moon it reached the peak and began descending. I could smell the scent of many cats nearing, and it made me uneasy. However, we all hobbled up the hill, and there stretched out a large territory. The land dipped down into a lake and was surrounded by oak trees. Many strange scents drifted towards us, but most of all, food, cats, and herbs. The camp must be near.  
>We made it only a few foxlengths past the scent barrier before a patrol challenged us… Or rather, ambushed us.<br>Aspen went down first, a sleek silver she-cat pinning him. I had barely a second to react before a golden tabby slammed into my side, sending me careening into Tiger. I stood back up, helping Tiger stand and watching Aspen roll the she-cat off of himself and rush to our group.  
>"Loners," The golden tabby sneered as three other cats joined the first two.<br>The silver one took an authoritative step towards us. "You haven't hightailed it out of here, so I'm assuming you want something. Well you won't find it here, so get out."  
>"Fine!" I hissed quickly, "Come on, Aspen, let's get out of here. We don't need to deal with these clan cats." Let's just admit this was a bad idea and figure out how to heal our wounds ourselves. I thought to myself, feeling spot where the fox had bit me sting a little.<br>"Cool it mouse-brain," Aspen snapped, turning back to the silver she-cat. "We were attacked by a fox while near your territory. We felt the least we could do was warn you about the beast."  
>Tiger tested the ground again, trying to look as if his bleeding leg wasn't such of a problem. I watched him hide a grimace as he gave up on it and said, "That fox gave us a decent amount of trouble."<br>The silver one paused to eye Tiger's injured leg, and I twitched to step in front of him, at first believing her to be seeking out his weaknesses. However, I realized that she was somewhat sympathetic. Looking back to Aspen, she stated, "You're all in need of a medicine cat."  
>I was only able to make out the first part of 'yeah' before Aspen interrupted me. "We'll manage." I gave him a glare but he didn't return my gaze. I may have wanted to get out of there, but at this point, I knew we all needed a little medicine.<br>"Your off-white friend would beg to differ." The silver she-cat said, indicating to Tiger's leg. "That's going to get infected if it isn't treated right away."  
>I watched the faces of the others in the group, noting that some, while they seemed to disapprove, would not speak up. Perhaps this was the leader we were speaking to. I wanted to ask, but the others had the conversation part covered.<br>"Only if your medicine stores could support it. We're not going to take a clan's supplies if they need it."  
>There was a pause when the silver she cat was about to nod, but the golden tabby, which seemed to be the most opposed to the idea, spoke up. "You can't be serious. Taking in a couple of loners? That's unheard of!"<br>"It's not unheard of, Bronzetail. They're in need, and our medicine stores can handle what they need for their injuries." She nodded, "Follow us." The rest of the patrol eyed us, but soon we were all walking in a large group. The silver one led us through some brambles and into a small tunnel, and then out into a clearing surrounded by heavy thicket. There were dens dug out in the side of the hill, and two in trees. I could also hear the mewling of kits coming from an old log.  
>The silver she-cat led us to the medicine cat den, which was located under a large tree, with holes poked in the roof to let the moonlight in. The medicine cat, as far as I could tell, was an old black tom, though he might've been dark brown. He greeted us with a suspicious eye, but only said, "More injured strangers, Silvermoon?" I noted the lack of 'star' and the end of her name. So she wasn't the leader. Perhaps she was the deputy.<br>"A fox attacked them near our borders. They came here to warn us. It only seems fair to repay them for their effort."  
>"A gesture we are very grateful for." Aspen said, dipping his head in respect to both of the cats. Tiger followed in suit, and while I knew I should be grateful as well, I didn't feel it. Though I made the faintest of efforts, I still dipped my head.<br>Silvermoon left us alone with the old medicine tom, who treated our wounds silently until his apprentice, a red and white patched she-cat returned, a bundle of herbs in her mouth.  
>She didn't seem too off-put about the three of us loners in the den, which raised the question as to how many loners passed through their territory. I was itching to ask, but Aspen soon struck up a hearty conversation with the medicine cats, and knowing I wasn't really a help with the social relations part of this journey, I decided to back off, resisting the urge to poke at the herbs used on my wounds.<br>Somnolent, I curled up in the mossy nest and soon, whatever will I had to stay awake faded, and I drifted off to sleep.  
>Fear shot through my body as I ran, muscles working harder than I ever thought they could, shooting me across Sorrelclan territory. My breathing was labored, coming in in short bursts. A cat I didn't recognize was running beside me, looking equally as terrified. There was a strange yowl-like sound, and I looked into the sky just in time to see something flying at us. The stranger yowled, "Stealthbreeze, get down!"<br>I didn't have time to lower myself. The other cat's weight pushed me down, and I collapsed, rolled a bit, and then stood, shakily looking around. The strange object had come to a grinding halt a few trees away, but the stranger was nowhere in sight. Her weight had been taken off of me moments after it had been applied. My eyes searched franticly through the trees, knowing I had little time to dawdle. "Foxfoot?" I called out, but no reply came.  
>"Foxfoot!" I jolted awake to the sound of my own voice, hissing through my teeth as I turned at an odd angle and irritated my wounds.<br>"If you keep talking in your sleep, you're gonna have to expect me to ask you who it is you are getting so worked up about. And in any case, there are still cats trying to catch some shut eye you know…" Aspen's voice called over to me, and I adjusted my position in order to give him a glare.  
>I was about to make a sarcastic comment when I realized my patched companion was seated next to Silvermoon, and had obviously been in a conversation with her before I had woken. Not wanting to deal with either of them at the moment, I only rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Oh, how rude of me." I curled myself into a circle in such a fashion that I faced away from them. I still wasn't exactly sure how to interpret my dream. I'd never met or heard of a cat named Foxfoot back in Sorrelclan. At the thought of the clan, homesickness struck me like a tree. How long had it been since I'd last set foot on Sorrelclan soil? How long had it been since I'd hunted the Sorrelclan squirrels? How long had it been since I'd left my life behind?<br>Releasing a troubled sigh, I tried to keep my mind off of that. Since my few other options were to either concentrate on how my body ached from the fox attack yesterday or eavesdrop on Silvermoon and Aspen's conversation, I went with the one that wouldn't cause me as more pain.  
>"From the desert, you say? We don't get many loners traveling from over the mountain."<br>"Yes, well, two of us are from the desert. Stealthbreeze – the spotted she-cat – is from further away than even that."  
>"Across the desert? What in Starclan's name would make her travel that far?"<br>"Only Starclan knows. We have an agreement. We don't talk about our old clans to each other."  
>"So you were in clans?"<br>"Yes. Tiger wasn't though. His mother and his father were, but he and his late brothers were born into a twoleg family. The clan fell just before he was born. I showed him everything he knows about being a true warrior and following the code."  
>"For future reference, you might want to refrain from traveling with she-cats that refuse to talk about where they're from. You never know what they could've done to be running so far from home."<br>I scowled. If she found out what I had, she would've run as far as I had.  
>"Stealthbreeze's fine once you get used to her. I doubt whatever happened in her clan was her fault. And anyway, everyone has their secrets. We all want a second chance, and if that means some secrets are conveniently forgotten, then so be it."<br>"So you have your own secrets, too, huh?"  
>I rolled my eyes again. Wasn't that the definition of 'everyone' having secrets?<br>"Well, don't you?"  
>"I suppose I might. Not that I can think of right now though."<br>Growing disinterested in their conversation, I checked my injuries, wishing I knew enough about medicine to be able to judge whether or not I was healing. I remembered once in Sorrelclan, I was gravely injured and had to spend a little under a moon in the medicine den. In all that time, I had befriended Cherrypaw, but other than that, I hadn't learned anything about medicine. I taught the blind medicine cat apprentice a defense move though, one that Dapplestar had taught me on one of the few days she wasn't busy governing the clan. If I had stayed, surely we would've stayed good friends.  
>But that was not my place, and it was too late now to go back. I'd left that life.<br>"Our medicine cat isn't incompetent." I looked up, realizing that Silvermoon had been addressing me.  
>"Huh?"<br>"You don't need to check over your bandaging. Our medicine cat knows what he's doing."  
>"Well forgive me for being skeptical." I snapped, easing to a sitting position and beginning to clean between my back toes before I heard Silvermoon speak, obviously not meant for me to hear.<br>"You put up with that across the desert?"  
>"Like I said," Aspen replied, matching her whisper. "She's fine once you get used to her."<br>Silvermoon looked him over, "Well, I have many duties to attend to, so I ought to be off. However, if you're feeling up to it any time soon, I'd be glad to hunt with you. I'm interested to see if our hunting tactics differ." She rose and they both acknowledged each other before the she-cat exited the den, leaving me, sleeping Tiger, and Aspen in the den. The medicine cat was nowhere in sight, which was strange for me. After all, through all my warrior life, I hardly ever saw a medicine den without at least one medically trained cat in it.  
>However, I had more important things on my mind. I adjusted my position so that I now faced my black and white companion as I asked, "Is it really in our best interest to get friendly with the locals?"<br>"Get friendly? What do you mean by that?"  
>"She invited you out to a hunt. She seems pretty warmed up to you. I just want to make sure we aren't staying here longer than it takes for our injuries to heal."<br>"Well, isn't staying the point? We wanted to see the other clans, find a place where no one knew who we were or what we did before we came. We were both running from something. I know this is only the first clan we've seen, but look at them. They seem friendly. Why shouldn't we ask them if we could stay?"  
>"They seem friendly?" I asked in disbelief, "You mean Silvermoon seems friendly to you. I can tell she has certain distaste for me."<br>"Well what do you expect, Stealthbreeze? You've got an attitude that could scare away a badger." Aspen retorted, his voice becoming annoyed. "Be glad I stopped you from saying anything when we were trying to get them to let us into the territory. They'd have chased us all the way back to the desert." I scowled at him, but I couldn't deny that I wasn't the friendliest cat I knew. Rolling back over so as to face away from him once more, I let my head drop between my paws as I gave an exasperated sigh. Unfortunately for me, this one something I was just going to have to ride out.


	8. Chapter 7

As the sun rose on our fourth day in camp, I stared out of the medicine cat den in silence, trying to ignore a spotted blue-grey she-cat who seemed to be keeping a keen eye on me, and had been for a long time. I attributed her intense gaze to the fact that while Aspen and Tiger had gotten friendly with the clan members, I had hardly spoken a word to any of them.  
>Even as I thought so, I saw Aspen walk back into camp, along with Silvermoon. This would be the third time I had seen him out hunting with her, and I couldn't deny that they made a great team. I flinched as Tiger suddenly appeared next to me, but he just sat down and said, "He seems to be getting along well here. I hear he even wants everyone to start calling him Aspenclaw again."<br>I narrowed my eyes at the black and white patched tom, shaking my head, "This is wrong. We're loners… We shouldn't be joining a clan. It's not our place."  
>Tiger frowned, "Wasn't that the entire reason we were heading for the clans?"<br>"Well I changed my mind." I snapped. "We're not ready to join a clan."  
>"You mean you aren't ready. I know you must've grown at least somewhat attached to Aspen over your journey, but he isn't yours to command. If he decides he wants to stay here, then why shouldn't he?"<br>I scowled, but I couldn't find anything to justify a reason to keep him from joining if he decided it was the right choice for him.  
>"I thought so." Tiger said, looking back to Aspen as the tom left his catch in the fresh kill pile and said goodbye to Silvermoon, before beginning to walk back to the medicine cat den. "I'm thinking of joining if they'll let me. You should consider it too."<br>I looked away from him, towards the camp's entrance, which I hoped to be using as an exit soon. I saw in the corner of my eye as Aspen gave me a glance, but then he and Tiger both retired to the den. No doubt his hunt with Miss Deputy had tired him out, especially since his injuries still needed checking up on.  
>Hearing pawsteps approaching, I looked back, expecting to see Aspen coming to talk to me, but instead I saw the she-cat from earlier. She approached with a hesitant confidence, as if she had been working up the bravery to do this for a while. I was waiting for her to walk right past me, but instead, she sat down right in front of me. "Hello. I'm Spottednose."<br>An awkward pause proceeded to take place before I asked, "Do you need something?"  
>She looked just about to turn and run or start crying, possibly both, but she held her own. "I just… you… Everyone says that you came from a place beyond the desert. That would make you from the forest, right? It's just… I know this is going to sound strange, but did your family leave you?"<br>"What?" I growled, "That's none of your business!" I turned, beginning to walk back into the medicine cat den. These clancats couldn't keep their noses where they belonged.  
>"Please!" The she-cat called, quickly standing and moving in front of me. "I just… I once knew someone that looked like you…"<br>My glare unbroken, I snarled, "Get out of my way."  
>The she-cat stared at me for a few seconds, eyes pleading with me to listen to her, but in the end she sighed, and turned away. "I didn't mean to anger you… I'm sorry."<br>I gave a relieved sigh before finally reentering the den and settling in the nest once more. I checked my wounds again, glad to see that they seemed to be nearly completely healed, or at least, as healed as they could be. This was more than could be said for Tiger, for one. She glanced over to him. His leg was still in pretty bad shape. It would make sense for him to stay here. Even if he did recover, as was predicted by the medicine cat, I was sure that it would be a long time before that happened. Aspen was healing fine as well, and he wanted to stay, no doubt.  
>Taking this all into account, I realized that supposing we were to all leave, it would take faar too long. It could be leafbare by then, and we would be trapped in by the snow.<br>It finally came to me: If I was going to leave any time soon, I was going to leave alone. I scowled to myself. While I was sure I could survive on my own, especially now that we were in a forest, something about traveling without Aspen was… saddening. It reminded me of the many sunrises that had gone past without my noticing them before I met him. Still, if he was going to stay, and I still felt I was to leave, I was just going to have to do without him.  
>"Funny you should mention it. You'll never guess what I was talking to Silvermoon about on our hunt…" I heard Aspen say to Tiger, and I guessed at once that Tiger had told him of his plans to join if possible. "She said that Redstar approved of letting us join, if we wanted to." He paused, making his voice louder. "Including you, Stealthbreeze."<br>I scowled. If it wasn't clear to him now that I wanted to leave, then I was sure it would never be. "I'm not staying here, so just leave it alone, Aspen. As soon as I'm fully healed, I'm taking off, regardless of whether or not you're with me."  
>There was a silence before he replied, "Why don't you just try to talk to some of the cats around here? You might like it. You might change your mind."<br>"No thanks. I don't need another painful departure because I got close to them."  
>"But aren't you tired of traveling? Tired of everything we went through out there?"<br>"Look, I get it if you're ready to settle down, but this isn't my fate. Not yet at least. One day, maybe I can forget what drove me from my clan in the first place, but until then I'm staying away from this life." I waited, but he didn't reply, so I buried my head in my paws and closed my eyes. Still catching up on the sleep I missed over the trip, and having nothing else to do, I nodded off.

"Wake up!" A voice yelled, and someone pulled me up by my scruff. My eyes opened to the fiery amber gaze of an unfamiliar tom, a grey rosette-spotted fellow with a fresh and bleeding cut on his shoulder. I shook myself awake, looking around. While there seemed to be no immediate danger, from the look in his eyes I was sure that something was going on. I didn't need to ask though. I could smell 'fox' all over him.  
>Outside the medicine den, I could hear others waking the entire camp with their shouts. Addressing all of us in the medicine den, he said, "There's a skulk of foxes heading for camp. We're evacuating the injured and the elders. Now follow me."<br>"Come on, Greystorm!" Another cat called, drawing the tom's attention. The other had in tow a few older looking cats, moving as fast as their aged bones would carry them.  
>Greystorm turned to the exit, leading the cats of the medicine den after those from the elder's den, and while I could see that Tiger was still limping, we all seemed to manage. They led us up through a narrow tunnel, and then proceeded toward the border Aspen, Tiger, and I had originally entered the territory from.<br>"Where are we going?" Aspen asked, looking back towards camp.  
>"There's a hidden den nearby where we take those who are unable to fight. Once we get there, we should be safe from-"<br>The tom was cut off by a sudden flash of orangish fur- a fox. It leaped through the brush and landed nearly on top of one of the elders. I recognized the wounds this fox carried. This was the same we had fought before.  
>The beast raised one paw into the air and prepared to strike down the elder, who stood frozen in fear. And who could blame him. The fox towered above him, lips pulled into a vicious snarl that revealed all of its yellowing teeth. It was a sight that could freeze any warrior in his tracks.<br>But even as I thought so, an off-white flash rushed between the fox and the elder with a resounding "No!"  
>"Tiger!" As the beast's paw swept down, Aspen threw himself at its face, landing his first strike over its eye. The fox reared its head back, stepping back and never hitting either of the cats. Without further hesitance, Greystorm and I leaped at the fox as well, the clan warrior targeting its underbelly while I landed on its neck. My claws latched into the beast's pelt, and I raked my hind legs down its back.<br>The fox let out a bark of frustration, turning at an odd angle and shaking in such a fashion that I lost my grip and fell. I hit my side hard, knocking all the air out of me. As the fox turned on me, revealing that Aspen and Greystorm too had both been thrown back by the maneuver, Greystorm rushed next to me and shouted, "Jump high for its eyes!"  
>In sync, we shot upward, with extra power that came in handy as it snapped at us. Our claws raked through its eyes, and a sound more like a shriek came from it. It shook its head, forcing us to drop back to the ground. Another strange sound came from it before it turned towards the border again and ran.<br>Breathing hard, I stood and looked around, finally spotting Tiger with the elders, standing protectively in front of them. "Is it gone?" He called over, looking past us and into the distance where it had gone.  
>The three of us nodded, and I gave a sigh of relief. We were alive. All of us were alive. "For a couple of loners, you two fight like real warriors." Greystorm commented, and Aspen and I acknowledged it with a small dip of our heads before he began to lead the way again.<br>We waited out the attack well into the night, and only when Silvermoon fetched us did we finally return to camp. The camp was torn to shreds, bushes and pieces of nests scattered across the grounds. Some major injuries seemed to have been sustained by many of the cats, including some very deep gashes across the face and or body.  
>Spottednose came running up to us, concern on her face. "Greystorm! You're hurt!"<br>Greystorm gave a slight chuckle, "Spottednose, as my sister, you should know that this is just a scratch for me."  
>The she-cat gave a small smile before looking to the rest of us. "All of you are hurt… What happened?"<br>"A fox attacked us." I commented.  
>"A fox?" She asked, looking back to her brother. "A fox attacked you?! Are you okay? Did it hurt you bad?"<br>He gave his sister a reassuring smile, and I looked away, towards the rest of the camp. Sibling love was weird.  
>I was called back to the conversation as Greystorm bumped me with his shoulder as he finished, "without her and Aspen, and Tiger too. They may be loners, but they have the hearts of warriors."<br>I paused, alarmed as I felt something stir within me… something I hadn't truly felt in the longest time. Happiness. Something about what he'd said made me feel… happy. I shook the thought off.  
>"Come on, Stealthbreeze. I'll bet they'll need all the help they can get with putting the camp back together." Aspen said, walking over to a limping cat and helping them to the medicine cat den.<br>I gave a goodbye to Greystorm and Spottednose, trying to ignore the look they shared when they looked at me, the look your older siblings give you.

Once everyone with injuries was taken to the medicine cat den and the pieces of the camp had been more or less put back in order, we all moved back to our respected dens and I lay down only to realize Greystorm had the nest right next to mine. While he insisted to the medicine cat apprentice that his wounds needed no further tending, it was apparent that he had more than a few cuts and gashes that needed tending after spending so long in the den away from medical care.  
>Once the medicine cat finally left him alone, he turned to me with a small smile. "We meet again, miss Stealthbreeze. What an honor."<br>I rolled my eyes, flashing a small smile. "I see your injuries were more than mere scratches."  
>He shrugged. "The medicine cats seem to think so."<br>"You were really good out there." I commented. "A strong fighter from a young age, I'll bet?"  
>"I'd like to think so."<br>There was a pause, not an uncomfortable one, just a pleasant break before I asked, "So, I see you've got a sister. Spottednose, is it?"  
>"Yup. That's the one. A little overprotective at times… but I love her all the same. We gotta stick together, you know?"<br>"Just the two of you then. Must be nice to have a sibling that cares about you."  
>His happy features faded slightly. "It wasn't always just the two of us… But yeah, it's nice to have someone that cares about you. Why? Had a mean brother back home?"<br>"Afraid not. It was just me…" I paused. "Just lonely old me."  
>He put one grey paw gently on top of mine, and I was surprised that I didn't flinch away. "Look around you Stealthbreeze. See all the she-cats and toms? How they care about each other?" I hesitated, but then my eyes drifted about. The medicine cats tending to the many wounds. The clan cats trying to cheer each other up. Mates comforting each other. I looked down, studying my nest before my eyes drifted upward again, into Greystorm's piercing amber gaze. "It's your choice… but I want you to know… You don't ever have to be alone anymore."<p> 


	9. Chapter 8

The sun rose the next morning, illuminating the still rather destroyed camp. Although they had done a lot yesterday after the attack, there was still much more to be done. Many of the less injured cats, including me, ended up spending the better half of the morning repairing the dens.  
>By evening, I was starving, but what remained of the fresh kill pile was being spent feeding the severely injured and the elderly. Even as she felt the grumble in her stomach, she watched as the first warrior to eat took the last piece of fresh kill.<br>"The fresh kill pile is empty." Greystorm observed in astonishment. "I've never seen us run out of food before."  
>"The foxes stole a lot of our prey while they were here." Spottednose commented. "We would still have plenty if they hadn't attacked."<br>I surprised myself when I spoke up. "I could go out hunting, bring more fresh kill to feed the rest of the clan."  
>"You won't be able to feed the rest of us on your own. I'm up for going with you though."<br>"Me too." Spottednose added with a smile.  
>"Well, if we're forming a hunting patrol, won't we need Silvermoon's permission to head out?"<br>"Silvermoon!?" Greystorm called out, summoning the she-cat within a few seconds.  
>"Yes?" She looked to the three of us. "Is something wrong?"<br>"We were hoping to head out for a hunting patrol. The fresh kill pile is empty."  
>Silvermoon glanced to the empty space where their food had been and nodded. "Good idea. You three can hunt on the right side of the territory. I'll get another group to hunt the left."<p>

We left immediately, and were greeted by a forest full of prey noises, a good sign for a clan needing food. It was strange to be providing food for a whole clan again. You start to think of the larger game. You think about fat magpies and juicy voles, instead of something that can get just you through the day.  
>I looked back to the siblings, noticing that same look in their eye, and finally I got curious. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" I asked, keeping my voice low in case I scented something nearby that would be a good hunt.<br>"Like what?" Spottednose asked, although I was mildly positive.  
>"Like I'm a newborn kit." I responded with a slight snap.<br>There was a pause from them before Greystorm said, "It's only… You remind us of our little sister, Jaykit… at least, your coloration does."  
>"Maybe a little lighter than her, but still. We both see it." I paused to look at them, but shook the thought.<br>I wanted to ask them about this Jaykit, what had happened to her, and so much more, but I only replied, "Oh."  
>The awkward silence broke as I suddenly dropped into a hunting crouch. A very delicious smelling magpie was near.<p>

When we got back to camp, we had all hunted well, bringing back a significant amount of prey, which the clan was very happy to see. Before everyone could take it all, Greystorm snatched up a plump rabbit and invited me and Spottednose over to share it.  
>Greystorm took the first bite, then passed it to me. I took my first bite, then passed it to Spottednose, who followed in kind. As we continued on this cycle, Greystorm said, "You're a good hunter, Stealthbreeze. I take it your mentor was a great cat."<br>I nodded, "Both of them were, although I got better battle training from one of them."  
>Spottednose tilted her head curiously. "Two mentors? You got two mentors in your clan?"<br>I shook my head. "I wasn't supposed to, but my mentor…" I choked on her name, instead deciding to use a pronoun. "She was the clan's leader, so sometimes she wouldn't have time to train me. So, every now and then, her brother would train me. It was nice having two cats teaching me. Their technique in hunting and fighting was so different; I got to blend the two." This would be the first time, I realized, that I had talked about life in my previous clan without getting choked up. Maybe Aspen was rubbing off on me.  
>"That must've been fun. Creating an entirely unique fighting style for yourself. I'll bet your opponents never knew what was coming." She punctuated it by swatting the rabbit in such a fashion that it hit Greystorm right in the muzzle.<br>I chuckled a little, watching in amusement as the rabbit fell to reveal Greystorm's stunned face. At the sight of his surprise, Spottednose burst out laughing, only to receive a rabbit in her face as well. I shook my head with a smile, rolling my eyes playfully. The siblings were so… I didn't know the word to describe it. They just were.

When we got back to work, Aspen joined me in redoing the cover over the nursery log, which I noted was empty. It occurred to me that on our journey during the fox incident, I had not seen any queens present, but I was sure when we had first arrived – I had heard kits mewling from inside. I winced at the possibilities of what had happened to the Oakclan queens and their kits, but tried to not let it deter me as we packed the log back into its foundation and began sticking wads of hanging moss into the top of the log so that it shaded the inside of the den.  
>"It was nice to see you laughing with those cats earlier." Aspen commented. "Are they nice?"<br>I hesitated, but then nodded, "Yeah. They're nice." I knew what he was getting at. He wanted to know if I was going to leave still.  
>As we began to clear the inside of the log of smaller pieces that had broken off of it, and began sticking soft grasses at the bottom, he said, "I know you aren't all cold inside as you try to be sometimes. I know you like being happy too."<br>I let a silence pass before I said, "I don't know, Aspen. It's been so long since the clan…"  
>He gave me a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry. I get it." Another silence passed as I tugged a piece of jutting up wood out of the side of the log and walked around to the outside to cover the hole in leaves and moss. "You know, you never got to tell me your story." I looked at him, positive that I had no idea what he was talking about. "In the tree roots, just before the fox attacked, I told you about Eaglefur, but you never got to tell me something about you."<br>I paused again. Eaglefur was such a personal memory to Aspen, it seemed only fitting that I tell him one back. "Well… when I was young, I didn't have a brother or a sister, but I had a friend, Hawkkit. He always used to say he was going to become the leader one day. He was a great fighter and a better friend, and he stuck with me through every stupid thing I did. We became apprentices together, Hawkpaw and Stealthpaw, sure that we were destined to rule the world… at one point I even began to crush on him, think maybe we'd grow up to be mates… but that was not the case. A little over two moons after we became apprentices, a badger attacked camp. Hawkpaw was still young, so he had little training, but the heart of a warrior… When the badger was finally chased out, I found him, barely breathing, gashed across his face… Violetsnow, the medicine cat, tried, but… there was nothing she could do for him. He died from his injuries a few nights later."  
>A long silence passed, but neither of us dared say a word to break it. So instead, as we finished the nursery, we moved on to the apprentice den, and began fixing it up without another sound.<p> 


End file.
